Chapter 61: Everyone is of the "Branch Family," and No One is Free
"Captain," Neji said, rubbing her arm, "you can still help me by staying behind."
"What do you need me to do?"
Neji took out a map and spread it on the table. He drew a red circle around an area. "After my operation begins," he said, his expression serious, "I need you to use a Shadow Clone, disguised as me, and wander around this area to create a diversion."
In the dojo of the Hyūga Main Family estate.
"Byakugan!"
Hinata and Hanabi, both small children, activated their dōjutsu simultaneously, their feet spread in the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.
"I'm coming, sister!" Hanabi called out.
"I'm ready, Hanabi!"
With a deep breath, Hanabi charged, her palms striking at her sister.
Hyūga Genkai, standing to the side, smiled. "That girl, Hanabi... she has a lot of talent," he murmured.
Though she was only three and a half, her form and footwork were already commendable. Hinata, nearly two years her senior, was doing adequately, but for the heiress of the clan, her performance was disappointing.
Hiashi watched, a frown on his face, a flicker of disappointment in his pale eyes.
Hinata's talent was no less than her sister's, but her timid nature held her back. In combat, her strikes were hesitant, her footwork clumsy. She had no will to win. The Gentle Fist may not have had the raw power of the Strong Fist, but the viciousness of its flowing movements was in no way inferior.
And that viciousness was what Hinata lacked. Her Gentle Fist had the form, but not the spirit. Against a true master, it was nothing more than a flashy display.
But it wasn't just her Gentle Fist that disappointed him. A person's personality determines their strengths. Hinata was gentle and kind. She would have made an excellent medical-nin. But as the head of the Hyūga clan, she would be a disaster.
Thump!
Hinata, in a moment of carelessness, was kicked in the shoulder by Hanabi and fell to the ground.
Hanabi rushed to help her up. She had thought her sister would be able to dodge her kick, but she had been half a beat too slow.
"Hanabi, let her get up on her own," Hiashi's cold voice commanded.
Hanabi didn't dare to disobey. She stood silently in front of her sister.
Hinata pushed herself up from the floor.
Genkai glanced at her, sighed, and left the dojo.
"Double your training for today," Hiashi said, his voice cold. "You will not rest until it is finished."
"Yes, Father-sama," Hinata whispered, biting her lip.
In the living room.
"Father," Hiashi said after a moment's thought, "Hinata's timid nature makes her unsuitable. But Hanabi... she's not even four, and her Gentle Fist is already taking shape..."
He hesitated, then continued. "Hanabi is more qualified to lead the clan than Hinata."
"Sigh," Genkai said. "I understand what you're saying, Hiashi. But to cast aside the elder for the younger is a recipe for chaos. It's not right."
Once such a precedent was set, any talented younger son of the main family would scheme to get rid of his older brother. Even the branch family, bound by the Caged Bird, would be inspired to rebel. The thousand-year foundation of the Hyūga would crumble.
"Then," Hiashi said, "we have no choice but to find a talented branch family follower for Hinata."
Neji had been the perfect candidate, but he had been taken by the Cloud.
An image of Hanabi flashed in his mind, and a look of pain and struggle appeared in his eyes, only to be replaced by a steely resolve.
"Hiashi," Genkai's voice was cold, "what does the Hokage plan to do about the traitor, Hyūga Neji?"
"His identity is sensitive," Hiashi replied, his expression changing. "And he's being protected by the Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails. If we're not careful, it could cause a conflict between our two nations. The Hokage-sama plans to... dispose of him during the exams."
It was an easy guess. In the three parts of the Chunin Exams, only the second, in the Forest of Death, was conducive to "accidents."
"The Forest of Death will be the grave of this bird who has flown the coop," Genkai said, a sharp glint in his old eyes. "The clan's honor will soon be restored."
At dusk, Hiashi and two of his servants left the clan compound and went to a street on the outskirts of the village.
There was an izakaya there, with no name and a plain facade. But it was a favorite spot for many of Konoha's elite, including Hiashi. The chef was a master of the cuisines of all Five Great Nations, and the sake was imported from the far-off Land of Water. The songstresses had the most beautiful voices, and the thinnest waists. Most importantly, the discretion was absolute. Inside, one could take off their mask and indulge in their desires without fear of their secrets being revealed.
The proprietress, who had been expecting him, greeted him with a bow. "Lord Hiashi, the usual?"
He just waved her away and, with his servants, he walked down a winding corridor.
Inside, the decor was exquisite. The walls were painted with scenes of nature, birds and beasts, the sun, moon, and stars. It was a place of both beauty and decadent luxury.
He slid open a shoji door.
It was a small, four-and-a-half-mat room, with cushions and a low table in the center. On the walls hung a series of paintings depicting the four seasons.
A waitress brought in food and drink, and two songstresses, then closed the door.
But Hiashi was in no mood for entertainment. His mood had been foul for days. Unpleasant rumors had begun to circulate in the village, whispers that the main family had forced Hizashi to his death. He felt as if people were pointing and staring at him on the street.
"Neji," he murmured, downing a cup of sake, "why couldn't you have just stayed in the Hidden Cloud? Why did you have to come back here to die?"
Outside the izakaya, Hyūga Genkai entered alone.
"Lord Genkai," the proprietress said with a bow, "you've arrived?"
He glanced at her, his face impassive. "Where is Hiashi?"
"He is resting upstairs, my lord. Please, allow me to show you the way."
"No need. Just tell me where he is. I'll find him myself."
He walked down the corridor, his pale eyes glinting.
He passed two of his own branch family servants, who were standing guard outside a room.
"Lord Genkai," one of them said, a surprised look on his face. The old man... at his age... he's still coming to places like this?
"Is Hiashi inside?" he asked, his voice a low rasp.
"Yes, my lord. He arrived less than half an hour ago."
"Good."
In a flash, his blade was out. A spray of crimson blood splattered against the shoji door.
He slid it open.
"Who is it?" Hiashi called out, annoyed at being disturbed.
He looked up, and the drunken haze in his eyes cleared.
The man standing in the doorway was in his early twenties, with strong, handsome features. And he looked... exactly like him. No, not just similar. They were identical.
"You... you're... Hizashi?" he stammered.
The two songstresses gasped. The dead Hyūga Hizashi... alive? They had heard the official story, of course: that he had willingly sacrificed himself to protect the village, his clan, and his brother.
The man who looked like Hizashi slowly entered the room, his katana dripping blood onto the floor.
Outside, two headless bodies lay on the ground, blood pouring from their necks.
"Aaaah!" the two songstresses screamed.
With a flick of his wrist, two senbon flew through the air, and they fell to the ground, silenced.
"No, Hizashi is dead. You're not him," Hiashi said, the last of his drunkenness gone.
He took a deep breath, the veins at his temples bulging. He was about to activate his Byakugan. But years of a pampered life had dulled his instincts. He was too slow.
The man was on him in an instant.
He slammed his palm into Hiashi's abdomen. "Iron Armor Seal!"
Hiashi looked down in horror as the seal spread across his stomach, imprisoning his chakra.
Shlick!
The sound of a blade cutting through bone.
The man had severed both of his hands.
He was about to scream when the bloodstained blade was pressed against his throat.
"Who... who are you?" he managed to choke out.
"I'm Hizashi, brother," the man said with a wicked smile.
"Impossible. Hizashi is dead," Hiashi said. He looked at the man's smile. "Wait... Neji. It must be you, Neji. Only you would disguise yourself as Hizashi..."
The man plunged a kunai into his thigh.
"Aaaah!"
"You're in a sorry state, aren't you, brother?" he sneered.
"Neji," Hiashi gasped, forcing out the words he had prepared for just such an occasion. "Hizashi... I know he died with regrets. But that is the fate of the branch family. It has been for hundreds of years. I did not choose to be born into the main family, and he did not choose to be born into the branch. It was fate. You must believe me, sacrificing him was not my intention. What brother would be so cruel? It was our father who forced me. My only mistake was not being able to protect him. I hope you can understand and forgive me."
The man just laughed and moved the blade from his neck, then plunged it into his right chest.
"I wonder if this will kill you, brother," he said, his voice a mad cackle.
He slowly pulled the blade out and then began to push it, inch by inch, into his left chest.
"Do you know what your problem is, brother? You're too arrogant."
"What... what are you talking about?" Hiashi groaned, his eyes rolling back in his head.
"If you had had the courage to take responsibility for your own actions, you could have taken your own life. But you didn't. You chose to sacrifice your own brother and live in shame. In your heart, you are no different from the rest of them."
Hiashi wanted to argue, but the words wouldn't come. If he had had the courage, Hizashi would not have had to die. If he had truly seen Hizashi as his brother, he would not have been so eager to see Neji dead.
A look of madness appeared on his face. "Neji!" he roared. "Are you blind to the absurdity of this world? Hizashi's tragic end... it was no one's fault but his own bad luck, to have been born a few minutes after me! The branch family is bound by the main family, and the main family is bound by the Hokage! The cage has always been there, binding everyone, from the top down! Everyone is of the 'branch family,' and no one is free! I once thought of changing the clan, but I soon realized that to do so would be to betray my own interests! If you were in my position, what would you have done?!"